“God no,” I say through the last bit of tears. If they knew, they would be up here in a heartbeat. If they were here, they would get all the details. That can never happen. Ever.”
“Thank Christ,” she whispers.
“Hey. How you feeling?” Camden asks, leaning against the door frame.
I’ve never been in love before. I never thought I needed it until this beautiful, caring man re-entered my fucked up life. Now that he’s standing in the doorway of this room, with a sheepish troublesome expression on his face, I realize I love him. At twenty-eight years old, my life was complete the minute I heard his voice again. I don’t want to be without him. I want to hear that incredible voice every morning when we wake. I want to love this man with the heart I know I have. This amazing man is mine, and for him I will fight whoever is trying to do away with me and do everything I can to make sure they don’t destroy Camden in the process.
SEVENTEEN
My sweet man is slumped over his computer with a tumbler of dark liquid in his hand. He makes no movement. Just his deep, brooding dark stare at his screen. Heath’s piercing eyes cryptically penetrating through the screen. The smile on his face is genuine, with his arm casually slung over Camden’s shoulder; the two of them standing in front of the building housing Heath’s restaurant.
Camden looks happy, proud even. Not today though. Today I can feel his pain radiating off of him, smacking me hard right in the face. This is all my fault for reasons I don’t quite understand.
I spent more time in the shower assessing this entire catastrophic turn of events after seeing the bracelet Heath gave me coated in blood, than I did trying to scrub the filth and disgust from my weekend with that deranged man off of my body. When Camden came to check on me, I could see in every characteristic of his handsome features that he now believes Heath is behind this. It broke my heart and shredded me to the point I wanted to chase all of these demons away, to tell him Heath would be caught. My ability to speak flew out the window when Camden apologized, blaming himself for Heath’s actions. The words were on the tip of my tongue, ready to tell him it’s not his fault, it’s mine. Instead, I stood there rendered speechless, like I’d been punched in my throat when the reality that we both blame ourselves for this, yet it’s neither of our faults.
“Hey.” I place my hand on his back. He turns and greets me with a diluted smile that kills me to see. Even still, he’s so outrageously handsome with his unruly hair and his face unshaven.
“Hey gorgeous.” He pulls me into him and kisses me. “Feeling better?”
“Somewhat.” Unstable on my own two feet, I sit myself in his lap. “You smell so good.” He runs his fingers through my semi-dry hair.
Thankfully to Lola went shopping for me while I was passed out buying all of my favorite things, including clothes and my favorite brown sugar body polish.
Treading lightly I say, “I take it there is no word on his whereabouts?” I lift my chin toward the computer, letting him know I am referring to Heath.
“None. I’ve called every contact I can think of. Every employee. No one has heard from him at all. This isn’t the Heath I know.” His gaze travels to the floor.
“Tell me about him? How did the two of you meet?” I hope that by asking, I can help him latch onto something good, to put a true smile on his face.
“That seems like a lifetime ago.” If the memories of the Heath he knows brings the happy man back to me, even for a little while, I will feel as though I’ve protected him in some small way. I know it makes no sense, because after her tells me, all of our problems will still linger. We will still have reality to face. I look at Camden, here with me. He’s chosen to be with me, in spite of the fact it really is my fault. None of this would be happening if I wouldn’t have spent that weekend with Heath, pretending to be another woman. Both of me I despise right now. Especially my true self.
“He and his mother moved in next door to us when I was fifteen. He was three at the time. An absolute little shit.” Camden chuckles. “He grew on me right away. When I turned sixteen, my parents bought me a car and Heath was this little terror who use to zoom around on his ninja bike, up and down the sidewalk, constantly smashing into the side of my car. I couldn’t wait to have that car. A dark blue Camaro decked out with badass speakers and a killer stereo. I thought for sure it was the coolest chick magnet car around.”
“And was it?” The thought of a young high school Camden driving a muscle car around was developing in my mind. I wished I had known him then.
“Oh it definitely was. Especially when I went to open the door for those chicks and had to explain every single time about the big dent in the side of the door.” He chuckles. “The same dent I didn’t have the heart to fix because my little buddy the terror put it there. He looked up to me, Luca. This little boy whose dad took off on his mother the moment he found out she was pregnant. We became close. Even when I left for college, I always found the time to let Heath know how much he meant to me. I would write him and even though he could barely read, I knew his mom, Maggie, would read it to him. The first thing I did, whenever I came home, was to go get him and see how much he had grown while I was gone. I adored that kid. We never steered away from the bond the two of us had. I even invested in his restaurant. I helped him make his dreams come true and when it took off like I knew it would, he paid me back every penny within two years. And now? Fuck.” He rakes his hands through his hair. He needs answers from Heath. Maybe more so than I do.
“I’m so sorry, baby.” My shaky hands curl around his neck.
“I’m sorry too, Luca. I really am. You’re the only thing that’s holding me together.”
“His mom?” Is all I say, hoping he picks up on what I’m trying to ask.
“She’s married and lives in California still and no, I haven’t called her. Heath’s not there. He may be behind all of this, but he loves her. There’s no way in hell would he drag her into it. I won’t worry her unless I absolutely have to.” I wonder what he means by that, but I don’t ask. I’m so tired. I just want to curl up in bed next to him and sleep this horrible day away to start fresh tomorrow. I still have to call my co-workers and explain the latest news to them. Hell, unless Mitch has talked to Leo and Annie, they still don’t know they cannot go to the office when they return home the day after tomorrow. The cops have my phone, so no one can reach me. Mitch knows where I am, even though Camden told me not to tell him, I did.
“Are you hungry? You haven’t ate a thing all day.”
I shake my head. Currently the thought of food was making me cringe. “Let’s go to bed. Lola’s already in one of the rooms down the hall.”
He gifts me with a true Camden smile in response. We stand together, heading toward the bedroom. “I’m going to shower and then I’ll join you,” he tells me as we retreat down the hall.
I slip out of my jeans and shirt, placing them on the chair where Camden left my clothes earlier. I tear off the tags of the silk camisole Lola bought me and climb into the king size bed. Rolling over onto my side of the bed, the darkness seeps in through the floor to ceiling windows. I try to stay awake so I can fall asleep in his arms, but my eyelids flutter. It’s no use. I’m out not even two minutes after my head lays on the pillow.
I’m freezing. It’s cold, dark, damp, and that smell is rancid. What is that pungent over-powering smell? I try screaming for help, but I can’t. Something is holding me back. My throat is dry.